why do tanks use “continuous tracks” instead of wheels?
In: Engineering
Like someone else said, it increase the surface area on which the weight of the vehicle is distribution. The ground have a limit on how much weight per surface it can carry before you start to sink, so increasing the surface area is important for a vehicle that weight 20-60 tonnes.
The second advantage is the traction. Since you have more surface area touching the ground, it’s more surface with friction with the ground, which create more traction, allowing the tank to advance in difficult terrain instead of getting stuck.
It’s stronger. In a normal wheel, you can’t really have it made all of metal, because it will slice through the ground and give you little traction, it’s one reason why we use tire. But tire are made of material that are less strong than metal and will get damage more quickly over time. In a tank, you can make the wheels and the track in metal and still have traction, while keeping stronger pieces that will last longer. That become more and more important as your vehicle become heavier.
It increases the surface area in contact with the ground. Essentially, a row of people (the wheels, in this scenario) couldn’t stand on their feet on water, but a row of people on surfboards could. By increasing the surface area, the weight that can be supported on terrain like loose sand, which would be a pain to get bogged down in (especially in combat), increases
Imagine this. A tank lays its own ground,uses its massive gears as wheels to pull itself along its own surface then lifts it up behind itself and repeats.
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